It's been a rough month or so for America's self-styled toughest sheriff, and the last day or two have turned the heat up to 11. We learned Wednesday, for instance, that three of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's deputies were arrested for drug and human smuggling. The guy can't catch a break; the crimes and fuckups under his command are like a Whack-A-Mole game. The once milquetoast media are no longer afraid of Arpaio, former colleagues have turned on him, and I imagine lots of Facebook followers have un-friended the oaf.
Ever since the results of a 6-month investigation into his office were released in mid April, pieces of the lengthy and highly redacted report have been dribbling out -- none of it good for Joe Arpaio. The findings and recommendations in the 1,022-page report led to the recent firings of Arpaio's senior staff for a boatload of criminal and unethical misdeeds. Literally dozens of crimes, from managing an illegal slush fund to obstructing justice, were uncovered in the investigation. The Arizona Republic has a nifty scorecard where you can skim all of the dirty details. In the meantime, the County is shelling out $100,000 a month just to prepare a defense for these and other crimes committed by the Sheriff's Office.
"I Know Nothing," Sgt. Schultz
Since the report was released, Sheriff Arpaio has been saying he didn't know what his good friends were up to for all those years; he maintains he was "deceived" and "betrayed" by his #2, Chief Deputy David Hendershott, and other key aides. That excuse is getting harder to swallow, as more of the report drips out and as more County employees come forward to say Arpaio clearly knew what was up.
But information in thousands of pages of recently released public records refutes some of Arpaio's claims and, in some instances, places him in the middle of key controversial events.
Certain trusted Arpaio advisers told investigators they notified Arpaio over the past several years about financial problems, potential issues with the way the agency was running its anti-corruption investigations, and his chief deputy's regular abuse of subordinates. Arizona Republic
Apologists for Arpaio say Chief Deputy Hendershott kept the Sheriff in the dark (for years!), and he even had a "Svengali effect" on Arpaio. But does anyone really think the micro-managing Sheriff didn't know what his top aides were doing?! Henderhott himself told investigators,
... that he had near-daily meetings with Arpaio — and that Arpaio gave him direction on sensitive cases. "Well, I think you'd be surprised what the sheriff knows," Hendershott said. "I keep the sheriff well informed." New Times
Last week the County's former chief financial officer, Loretta Barkell, said she often told Arpaio that using an inmate services fund to buy tanks and other boy toys for his immigration war was illegal. The Sheriff blames his misuse of the $95.5 million (which must be paid back) on a computer problem, but that's not how Barkell remembers it after warning Arpaio multiple times:
"The sheriff waved his hand and said he was not allowing the bean counters to manage his operations," Barkell said. New Times
Then yesterday New Times published "Joe Knew," which places Arpaio at the center of some of the dirtiest deeds, especially when it came to getting back at anyone who stood in the way of his police state tactics, from judges to County Supervisors:
When it came to taking vengeance on his political enemies and keeping his name intensely before the public while doing it, the sheriff took a deep and personal interest. Arpaio is shown in investigation records to be nothing less than a micro-manager of important aspects of tainted investigations — and the driving force behind some of his office's most appalling tactics. New Times
"No One Tells Me Who I Can and Cannot Arrest"
One of the County Supervisors Arpaio and then-County Attorney Andrew Thomas arrested in 2009 was Don Stapley. Arpaio's office even tipped off the media so the news cameras would be rolling when Stapley was handcuffed and taken away.
County sheriff's deputies arrested Stapley as he arrived at work at the county administration building Monday morning. A court clerk soon read the 93 felony and seven misdemeanor counts. Stapley pleaded not guilty. Arizona Republic
What's transpired since the arrest is that the case was tossed out of court because it was clearly a vindictive, hollow piece of crap, and Stapley is suing the County for millions, as are other judges and elected officials who were targets of Arpaio and his hatchetman Andrew Thomas. Happily, peckerhead Thomas is no longer County Attorney and is facing disbarment for his petty lawsuits, while Arpaio tries to distance himself from the case. The problem is that he was clearly involved in the decision to arrest Stapley, says Prosecutor Sheila Polk, who attended meetings with the Sheriff and his top aides about the case.
[S]he asked why the Sheriff's Office arrested Maricopa County Supervisor Don Stapley after she had told them the case was not ready to charge. "Arpaio blows up: I had PC (probable cause) to arrest, no one tells me who I can/cannot arrest," Polk said. Arizona Republic
If that weren't enough evidence of the Sheriff's involvement, immediately after Stapley's arrest in 2009, Arpaio told the Arizona Republic:
... his office had acted on its own, investigating independently and arresting Stapley because it had probable cause.... Arpaio said he made the decision to make an arrest late in the week. Arizona Republic
emphasis added
"Dave's Not Here, Man"
The Sheriff took full credit at the time. But yesterday, as the walls close in even more, the buffoon changed his tune, and all of a sudden the Stapley screwup is Chief Deputy David Hendershott's fault again! It must be nice to have an absent scapegoat to blame everything on. According to Arpaio's spokeswoman,
"Arpaio doesn't remember telling anybody that he ever ordered the arrest of Don Stapley."
Except that he did. And he bragged about it.
Get out the chips and salsa, because a huge chunk of the investigative report remains redacted, there are more than 15,000 pages of interviews still to be released, and a federal grand jury looking into Arpaio's abuse of powers has requested all of it. That investigation has been underway for 893 days, 11 hours, and 47 minutes ... but who's counting?